I was *so close* to sewing this skirt in one day. So close! I know it's not a race to get a garment finished, but for some reason I wanted to finish it in one day because I usually end up drawing things out for days even if I only have one or two things left to do. Regardless, this skirt is done! Done! and it feels so good!
I've had the Colette Zinnia Skirt pattern in my stash for a couple months and I'm glad I finally made it. I opted to buy the pdf pattern because I initially intended to make this skirt ASAP after purchasing it.....that was back in November so obviously I didn't *need* the pattern as badly as I thought I did. But I am glad I bought the pdf version because the instructions come in a pdf as well so I was able to view them on my kindle, which I really enjoyed being able to do.
I eventually got around to printing and cutting the pattern once I bought a thin-waled beige corduroy back in December. I always wanted to make this skirt out of corduroy and I was really excited when I found the perfect weighted fabric on a recent trip to Jo-Ann fabrics. The great part about the Zinnia skirt is that it requires so little fabric! I think I purchased less than 2 yards for Version 2 (the pleated version with in-seam pockets and an invisible zipper in the center back with one button closure).
NOTE: One major design item to take into consideration with this pattern is that the skirt pieces are cut on the crosswise grain, which is perpendicular to the selvedge. (Normally pieces are cut on the regular grain, which is parallel to the selvedge.). Well, when I laid out my pieces to be cut on the crosswise grain I realized that it would place the "corduroy" horizontally on the skirt, which looked super ridiculous so I sacrificed some beautiful drape for vertical corduroy. I think this was the right call, but keep this in mind when you think about using stripes or corduroy for your Zinnia. Somehow I ran out of room to place the waistband on the regular grain so I actually cut the waistband on the crosswise grain, which I think looks kinda cool with the corduroy juxtaposed against each other.
The most difficult part of the skirt is probably the pleats although really it's not that difficult. The instructions call for you to baste the pleats first, then topstitch. But I was partly too lazy to baste and partly too confused on what I was supposed to baste, so instead I pinned all the pleats in place and then topstitched:
I totally could have finished this skirt in one day, but I definitely dug myself a hole that required a bit of extra time to get out of. First, I had this brilliant idea to use the corduroy for the pocket facings, but make the pocket bag out of something more lightweight. I quickly searched my stash and came up with a silk print that I got a for a song at the FIDM scholarship store last year. I had tried to make a blouse out of it, but it became a total disaster. For some reason I thought using silk for the pockets was the best idea ever until I started cutting it and then nightmare flashbacks of working with silk came to me. I also decided to use french seams since I was working with silk, which totally threw me off when it came time to sew the pockets to the skirt pieces.
I definitely sewed the pockets incorrectly the first time and then sat at my sewing machine for who knows how long figuring out the correct sewing procedure. It eventually came to me.
My other WTF moment came when I pinned the waistband to the skirt. For some reason the skirt waist length was over one inch longer than the waistband.....I'm not sure how that happened, but my best guess is that I probably didn't do a great job of transferring the pleat lines to the fabric or maybe I stretched out the waist when I ironed the pleats (although I did staystitch the waist...). Looking back on it now, I have NO IDEA why I didn't just take in the side seams by at least a quarter inch. Nope, didn't do that. Instead I re-cut the waistband to match the skirt waist length, which now means the skirt is a bit too big on me. I don't know what the hell I was thinking....
NOTE #2: When you create the belt loops, you make them out of one long piece. You essentially create a narrow tube and then have to pull the right side out through itself. The directions provide a tip that you can leave long tails on the end of the seam and then attach a needle to the tails and pull it through the tube. Well, when they say "long tails" they mean "loooooooong tails", like, longer than the tube. Trust me. I had to redo it and made sure my tails were hella long the second time around.
Overall I really like this skirt, even though it doesn't drape as the pattern was intended and the waist is too big; it sits comfortably on my hips (and allows me to eat huge meals). The construction is a breeze and the pleats add a really nice detail. I also really like the button enclosure on the back instead of just having the zipper extend all the way to the top of the waistband. I probably could have raised the zipper just a smidge because there is a tiny gap above the top of the zipper.
I appreciate there are three versions that come with this pattern and all are just a bit different from each other that I wouldn't necessarily feel like I'm duplicating the same skirt. I definitely look forward to making the other two versions. Actually, I really want to remake this version with the skirt pieces cut on the crosswise grain....and with the correct waistband size.....
Regardless, I still ended up with a fab skirt that I'm proud of and enjoy wearing! I always think of corduroy as a winter fabric, but I think the lightness of the color and weight of the fabric will allow this skirt to be worn through the spring and possibly the summer on cooler days. Definitely a staple garment!
And like that, one out of eight 2014 sewing goals is complete!
I've had the Colette Zinnia Skirt pattern in my stash for a couple months and I'm glad I finally made it. I opted to buy the pdf pattern because I initially intended to make this skirt ASAP after purchasing it.....that was back in November so obviously I didn't *need* the pattern as badly as I thought I did. But I am glad I bought the pdf version because the instructions come in a pdf as well so I was able to view them on my kindle, which I really enjoyed being able to do.
I eventually got around to printing and cutting the pattern once I bought a thin-waled beige corduroy back in December. I always wanted to make this skirt out of corduroy and I was really excited when I found the perfect weighted fabric on a recent trip to Jo-Ann fabrics. The great part about the Zinnia skirt is that it requires so little fabric! I think I purchased less than 2 yards for Version 2 (the pleated version with in-seam pockets and an invisible zipper in the center back with one button closure).
NOTE: One major design item to take into consideration with this pattern is that the skirt pieces are cut on the crosswise grain, which is perpendicular to the selvedge. (Normally pieces are cut on the regular grain, which is parallel to the selvedge.). Well, when I laid out my pieces to be cut on the crosswise grain I realized that it would place the "corduroy" horizontally on the skirt, which looked super ridiculous so I sacrificed some beautiful drape for vertical corduroy. I think this was the right call, but keep this in mind when you think about using stripes or corduroy for your Zinnia. Somehow I ran out of room to place the waistband on the regular grain so I actually cut the waistband on the crosswise grain, which I think looks kinda cool with the corduroy juxtaposed against each other.
The most difficult part of the skirt is probably the pleats although really it's not that difficult. The instructions call for you to baste the pleats first, then topstitch. But I was partly too lazy to baste and partly too confused on what I was supposed to baste, so instead I pinned all the pleats in place and then topstitched:
I totally could have finished this skirt in one day, but I definitely dug myself a hole that required a bit of extra time to get out of. First, I had this brilliant idea to use the corduroy for the pocket facings, but make the pocket bag out of something more lightweight. I quickly searched my stash and came up with a silk print that I got a for a song at the FIDM scholarship store last year. I had tried to make a blouse out of it, but it became a total disaster. For some reason I thought using silk for the pockets was the best idea ever until I started cutting it and then nightmare flashbacks of working with silk came to me. I also decided to use french seams since I was working with silk, which totally threw me off when it came time to sew the pockets to the skirt pieces.
I definitely sewed the pockets incorrectly the first time and then sat at my sewing machine for who knows how long figuring out the correct sewing procedure. It eventually came to me.
My other WTF moment came when I pinned the waistband to the skirt. For some reason the skirt waist length was over one inch longer than the waistband.....I'm not sure how that happened, but my best guess is that I probably didn't do a great job of transferring the pleat lines to the fabric or maybe I stretched out the waist when I ironed the pleats (although I did staystitch the waist...). Looking back on it now, I have NO IDEA why I didn't just take in the side seams by at least a quarter inch. Nope, didn't do that. Instead I re-cut the waistband to match the skirt waist length, which now means the skirt is a bit too big on me. I don't know what the hell I was thinking....
NOTE #2: When you create the belt loops, you make them out of one long piece. You essentially create a narrow tube and then have to pull the right side out through itself. The directions provide a tip that you can leave long tails on the end of the seam and then attach a needle to the tails and pull it through the tube. Well, when they say "long tails" they mean "loooooooong tails", like, longer than the tube. Trust me. I had to redo it and made sure my tails were hella long the second time around.
Overall I really like this skirt, even though it doesn't drape as the pattern was intended and the waist is too big; it sits comfortably on my hips (and allows me to eat huge meals). The construction is a breeze and the pleats add a really nice detail. I also really like the button enclosure on the back instead of just having the zipper extend all the way to the top of the waistband. I probably could have raised the zipper just a smidge because there is a tiny gap above the top of the zipper.
I appreciate there are three versions that come with this pattern and all are just a bit different from each other that I wouldn't necessarily feel like I'm duplicating the same skirt. I definitely look forward to making the other two versions. Actually, I really want to remake this version with the skirt pieces cut on the crosswise grain....and with the correct waistband size.....
Regardless, I still ended up with a fab skirt that I'm proud of and enjoy wearing! I always think of corduroy as a winter fabric, but I think the lightness of the color and weight of the fabric will allow this skirt to be worn through the spring and possibly the summer on cooler days. Definitely a staple garment!
And like that, one out of eight 2014 sewing goals is complete!
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